France courts Greenland for rare earths, pitches deal as ‘win-win’
French Junior Minister for Foreign Trade and Attractiveness Nicolas Forissier told reporters at the Future Greenland 2026 business conference on Tuesday that the partnership his government is building with the Arctic territory would be a “win-win.”
The pitch came a day after France and Greenland signed a memorandum of understanding on critical raw materials. Forissier, leading the largest French business delegation ever to attend the Nuuk conference, framed cooperation in terms of mining, energy and industrial partnerships, alongside offers of “support” for Greenland’s path toward greater autonomy.
“A country like Greenland cannot be bought, cannot be taken,” Forissier said, echoing language used by President Emmanuel Macron during his June 2025 visit. Forissier met Greenland’s foreign affairs minister Múte B. Egede on Monday and was due to meet Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen later Tuesday.
The French visit coincides with that of U.S. Special Envoy Jeff Landry, who arrived in Nuuk on Sunday. Landry was appointed by President Donald Trump to advance American interests in Greenland after Trump repeatedly said the United States should control the island.
